Oklahoma AG says ex-publisher’s victims can get music files

November 20, 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter says a website has been set up for artists duped by a defunct publisher to retrieve their digital book and music files.

Hunter said Tuesday his office has sent a letter to more than 1,100 victims of Mustang-based Tate Publishing, which closed last year. Hunter says it provides step-by-step instructions for downloading documents.

Hunter says his office has received about 2,200 worldwide complaints against Tate and that 1,560 files belonging to 1,130 authors and musicians have been received from its attorneys. But Hunter says some files are incomplete and possibly irretrievable.

The company’s former owners, 71-year-old Richard Tate and 40-year-old Ryan Tate, have pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and other charges. They claim some files were stored in the Philippines and can’t be recovered.